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Epicurus

Fictional?
No
Born
341 BC
Died
270 BC
Occupation
Philosopher
Nationality
Greek
Gender
Male
Updated
Dec 14 2009 (02:38AM)
Submitted
Jan 26 2009 (03:47AM)

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Biography

Epicurus (Greek: Ἐπίκουρος, Epikouros, “upon youth”; Samos, 341 BCE – Athens, 270 BCE; 72 years) was an ancient Greek philosopher and the founder of the school of philosophy called Epicureanism. Only a few fragments and letters remain of Epicurus’s 300 written works. Much of what is known about Epicurean philosophy derives from later followers and commentators.

For Epicurus, the purpose of philosophy was to attain the happy, tranquil life, characterized by aponia, the absence of pain and fear, and by living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends. He taught that pleasure and pain are the measures of what is good and bad, that death is the end of the body and the soul and should therefore not be feared, that the gods do not reward or punish humans, that the universe is infinite and eternal, and that events in the world are ultimately based on the motions and interactions of atoms moving in empty space.

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